Why do we feel so poor and what should we do about it?
We are making more money and have more saved for retirement, but why do we feel so poor? My suggestion is that perspective is our culprit. Perspective influenced by social media and inflation are making us poor even when facts and data would tell us otherwise. I’ll caveat that statement doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’m generalizing based on total US facts and data. The good news is that I have recommendations on how to protect yourself and reframe your feelings on money.
It’s no secret that social media is toxic, but that doesn’t stop us from spending hours doom scrolling to watch 30 second highlight reels of friends and influencers. 30 seconds of watching friends and influencers drive fancy cars or vacation in beautiful places has a way of impacting your perspective of money. You subconciously think they are richer than you because they are spending more money than you and their lives are perfect (at least for that 30 second clip). The truth is usually the exact opposite. The only thing you know about this person is that they spent money on the car or vacation. You have no idea how much debt they are in (avg. US credit card debt is over $5k!) or how little they have saved for their retirement. All you see is they are spending money and your perspective is that they are richer than you and therefore you are poorer than them. This is an area that I am passionatley exploring and look forward to sharing more as I learn more.
It’ll take time to get used to the inflation adjusted prices. For me personally, it was easy to find lunch near my office for under $10 in 2019. Now, that same lunch costs almost $20. Inflation is slowing , but there are no signs that we’ll see deflation and so we’ll need to get used to higher prices in 2024 compared to 2019. Prices have changed as much as everything else in this world since 2019 so comparing everything back to those prices won’t do you any good. Our perspective is that a lunch should cost $10 because we are anchoring back to 2019 when in reality, lunch costs $20 in 2024 and we need to get ourselves comfortable that is the price now.
3 ways to improve your perspective of your financial net worth
Remember that everyone is playing a different game. Everyone has different financial goals and some probably don’t have any at all. If you’re reading this I bet you have financial goals and it’s important to remind yourself that not everyone has the same goal. For example, my goal is to retire when I am 55 years old. I’m making intentional decisions in my spending to support that goal. The person I see driving the new BMW down the street may not have the same goals. They may be more focused on living each day to their max and are fine working until they die. It’s a very different game. That mental trick has helped me more than anything else in my financial emotional wellbeing. We’re all playing different games and it’s important to stick to your game (goal). I personally have my goal written down in my Apple Notes and I have a reminder to read it every Friday.
Make sure you’re money is going to where you want it to go. That’s the most important thing you can do to “feel” rich. There are probably several areas in your life that spending money truly provides joy and the idea of this is to lean into those areas and live frugally in areas that don’t bring you joy. For example, I love to travel and often spend more than I should on vacations. However, I don’t have the same passion for my car so I spend very little on my car and “reinvest” that money into my travel which brings me so much more joy than a car would. Intentional spending is extremly important in living a full and abundant life, but within the means you are able to.
Turn off social media (or at least limit it). This suggestion is a little nuclear, but you’ll instantly feel better. Even if you don’t realize it, you’re subconsciously comparing your life to the highlight reels you see on social media which is often toxic for your perspective. I personally limit myself to 30 minutes per day on social media and that is the right balance for me to stay engaged with friends, but limit myself from doom scrolling. When you are on social media, remind yourself that everyone is playing a different game and your financial goals are different than most people you see on social media. Go ahead and say it out loud – it’ll remind your subconscious self that we’re all playing different games.
